West Point grad Rowley wins ML debut, Jays beat Pirates 7-2  —  TORONTO (AP) — Chris Rowley pitched 5 1/3 innings to win his major league debut, Jose Bautista scored two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2 on Saturday.  —  A former first lieutenant in the United States Army …

Cubs get contributions throughout lineup in 8-3 win over Diamondbacks  —  Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant on his 3-for-3 outing in the 8-3 win over the Diamondbacks and his lingering sore pinkie on Friday, Aug. 11, 2017.  (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)  —  Kris Bryant described the necessary steps …

Yankees place Masahiro Tanaka on DL with shoulder inflammation  —  Masahiro Tanaka was placed on the 10-day disabled list Saturday, becoming the latest New York Yankees starting pitcher to miss time because of an injury.  —  Tanaka, who has battled elbow injuries over the last two years …

Brewers To Acquire Neil Walker  —  5:47pm: The Mets will pay some portion of the remaining $5MM-plus on Walker's contract, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter).  —  4:34pm: The Brewers and Mets have reached agreement on a trade that sends second baseman Neil Walker to Milwaukee, FanRag's Jon Heyman tweets.

Column Diamondbacks have snaked their way into contention this season  —  Forty minutes before they took the field in Cincinnati on July 18, the Arizona Diamondbacks received welcome news.  They were all assembled inside the visiting clubhouse at Great American Ball Park, browsing their phones …

Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia (knee) headed back to DL  —  Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who came off the disabled list Tuesday, is headed back there because of lingering swelling in his sore left knee, the team announced Saturday. … The move — after Pedroia sat out two games following …

Pirela's homer in 8th leads Padres to 4-3 win over Dodgers  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jose Pirela hit a tiebreaking home run leading off the eighth inning, Manuel Margot added two solo homers and the San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 on Friday night.

Nick Castellanos open to moving from third base to right field for Detroit Tigers  —  Nicholas Castellanos leads the AL in triples.  Other Tigers of the past 60 years to lead the AL.  Video by Ryan Ford/DFP Wochit  —  CONNECT  —  In answering a question about whether the Tigers …

DeJong, Grichuk lead streaking Cardinals past Braves 8-5  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) - Paul DeJong had two doubles with three RBIs and Randal Grichuk tripled and drove in two as the surging St. Louis Cardinals held off the Atlanta Braves 8-5 on Friday night to win their season-high seventh straight game.

Rockies Sign Ryan Howard To Minors Deal  —  The Rockies announced that they have agreed to a minor league contract with first baseman Ryan Howard.  —  This is the second time this year the longtime Phillie has taken a minors pact.  Howard signed one with the Braves back in April …

Angels Designate Cesar Puello  —  The Angels have designated outfielder Cesar Puello for assignment, according to Maria Guardado of MLB.com (Twitter link).  His spot will go to reliever Andrew Bailey, whom the Angels activated from the 60-day disabled list.

Stephen Strasburg expected to make his rehab start at Class-A Potomac on Monday  —  WASHINGTON — Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg will make a minor league rehab start Monday at Class A Potomac.  —  Strasburg has been on the disabled list since late July with a right elbow nerve impingement.

AL Notes: Park, Sabathia, Royals  —  After an underwhelming start to his US career in 2016, Twins first baseman ByungHo Park has yet to appear in the Majors this season, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press notes.  Park arrived in the US with fanfare but batted just .191 in his rookie season …

Rangers Claim Phil Gosselin From Pirates  —  The Rangers have claimed utilityman Phil Gosselin from the Pirates and optioned him to Triple-A Round Rock.  They've also outrighted infielder Tyler Smith to Round Rock.  —  The Pirates acquired Gosselin in a minor trade this spring after the Diamondbacks designated him for assignment.

Norris planning for a few rehab starts soon; Presley (right side) off DL  —  Tigers outfielder Alex Presley faced left-handed pitcher Daniel Norris in a simulated game on Friday with Triple-A Toledo.  Both players were back at Comerica Park this afternoon.  —  Presley returned …

Quick Hits: Miller, Freeman, Nationals  —  Differences between the levels of media attention in various markets can affect players as they change teams,writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  Andrew Miller (who has played for teams like the Indians and Marlins with relatively small media contingents …

Cardinals will back Martinez with same lineup as Friday  —  After weeks of injuries and scoring struggles prompted Cardinals manager Mike Matheny to experiment with different middle-of-the-order hitters and rotate through outfielders, Matheny appears to have found a lineup he likes.

Hamels tosses seven scoreless as Rangers hang on to beat Astros  —  Cole Hamels allowed three hits and two walks Friday over seven scoreless innings, and Elvis Andrus doubled twice and scored three runs as the Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros 6-4 in the opener of a three-game series.